In the mid 1990s, the widespread adoption of the web browser led to a rapid commercialization of the Internet. In addition, initial success stories were reported from companies that learned how to create an effective direct marketing channel - selling tangible products to consumers directly with...

Data is often defined as the ‘oil’ of the 21st-century economy: companies that successfully collect and process a large amount of data can provide more personalized services to their customers, develop new products, and reduce their production costs, thus becoming more competitive....